Aftermath
by Cyan Ryder
Summary: A series of one-shots detailing the activities of the World Guardian, Siiyan immediately after the events of certain quests. Will most likely contain spoilers for the quests mentioned in the chapter titles. The stories mainly come from things playing out differently in my head, but I hope you enjoy! (Also, Male World Guardian/Ariane fluff)
1. Kindred Spirits (Part I)

Aftermath: Kindred Spirits

Sliske threw down the staff of Armadyl and and stood tall. He began stalking towards Siiyan, and he was furious. Siiyan stood up shakily, having part of his soul taken left him a little weak, but he had to be ready to defend himself, if that would do any good. He settled back into a fighting stance and took the sai into his right hand in a defensive reverse grip. Sliske was almost upon him, he was taking his time, like a spined larupia teasing its prey. Maybe he would stand a chance if he attacked first.

Siiyan swung the blade up towards Sliske, aiming for a blow to his jaw, but Sliske was quick, and blocked the swing by grabbing his wrist. Sliske then twisted his arm wrenching the sai from his grip, forcing it to clatter to the ground, and causing Si to cry out in pain. With his other arm, Sliske grabbed Siiyan and threw him back with such force, he crashed into the wall a good 10 metres behind him. He began to recover himself, but Sliske moved with astonishing speed, and before he could do anything, Sliske unleashed a relentless onslaught of punches into him. They collided with his jaw, his temples, and his ribs, each one cutting open his skin and drawing blood. Sliske's knee drove into Siiyan's ribs, giving off a loud crack as they snapped, causing another roar of pain. But he wasn't done yet, Sliske grabbed Siiyan by the throat and slammed his head back into the wall, causing a large gash to form on the back of his head, letting blood flow down the back of his neck and begin to stain the top of his black leather chestpiece. He fell to the floor, bloodied and bruised from the brutal battering he had just recieved. Sliske raised his knee, and with a malicious smile on his face, brought the foot down hard on Siiyan's back, producing another crack as multiple more ribs were broken. Sliske walked away from his broken body, as he tried to bring himself up to his hands and knees, but his arms gave out, and he slumped back down to the ground, weak and helpless.

"Oh, that felt good, I haven't been that angry in a long time" Sliske said, seemingly back to his usual self. "Hey Meg, still think you can take me on?" He turned to look at the female adventurer. "Come on you miserable insect, give me a try."

Meg said nothing, she stared at the Mahjarrat in fear, worried for the safety of Siiyan, and of herself, Linza and Major Rancour.

Siiyan coughed up blood, splattering it on the stone paving in front of him. "Uggh..." he spat in disgust.

Sliske turned back to face him. "Siiyan, you hurt me. You really, honestly hurt my feelings. And you're going to pay for that. I think you've made a good down payment, but were nowhere near done today. Here's something to think of while you're on your knees, Linza betrayed you." A smile formed on Sliske's face, clearly enjoying the view of the World Guardian helpless in the situation.

"Sliske!" Linza shouted, her face in shock that he had just revealed that information.

But he continued. "Her and Relomia were in on this from the start. Isn't that right, Linza?"

Meg looked at Linza in disbelief, "Linza, he's lying right?" She sounded so afraid. Linza said nothing as Sliske walked in front of her. "Linza!" Meg raised her voice.

"I had to, you don't understand!" Linza shouted back at her.

Sliske butted in. "Since you'll probably spin this to make yourself look better, I'll let Siiyan hear my version. Linza here is a fraud, a thief and a liar. She never learned to smith dragon weapons. She stole the secrets from the Dragonkin. Stole the ore from them as well. Now, we both know what reasonable chaps the Dragonkin when people take things from them, especially lesser races like us, who could use those things against them."

"They were hunting me! I had to do something!" Linza protested.

Sliske nodded. "And so, she came to me." He turned to Siiyan and his face formed a cruel sneer. "She. Came. To. Me. And I made her an offer. I'd give her the strength to fend off the Dragonkin by herself, and in return she'd feed you this quest like a good little collaborator."

Siiyan struggled to get the words out "Linza..." he said, barely audible.

"I had to do it! If people found out, what would happen to me? You, Siiyan, the World Guardian, you go around punishing thieves like me who endanger the rest of the world. I had nobody else to turn to. I didn't know about the Staff, I swear!" Linza defended herself.

Sliske turned back to face Linza. "And speaking of turning. I know i agreed to wait until you were dead before I made you a wight, but ive changed my mind."

Linza looked horrified. "No!" she screamed.

Sliske raised his arm, and Linza was lifted off the ground, seemingly being strabgled by an invisible force. Her skin started writhing, her whole body seeping with a pale green smoke coming out of all her skin pores. Her own skin took on a sickly green colour, and her face became a motionless, blank expression. She fell back to the ground, and when she stood, Linza, the master crafter, was no more, and in her place stood no more than a pawn in Sliske's game.

"Now, Siiyan. I know that when you're not writhing in pain you're thinking, 'Why did Sliske only beat me mostly to death?' That's because I'm going to get the Barrows Brothers, and Sister, to send you the rest of the way. Then they are going to kill the other hostages. Then, I'm going to send them to kill your friends, your family, basically anyone that has ever brought you joy." He had a sharp scowl and he was shouting now. He was clearly still seething with rage., and he had a terribly cruel smile at the thought of killing his enemy.

"No." Guthan said.

Siiyan struggled onto his hands and knees, while Sliske turned to the Brothers, confused. "Excuse me?"

Dharok spoke next. "We're not going to kill Siiyan, Sliske. Linza might be under your control, but we can check her while Siiyan escapes."

Sliske sighed. "I am surrounded, if not inundated, with miserable wretches who think they know who they are dealing with." He began to work his dark magic.

"Siiyan, I can feel his control over us returning, run!" Torag yelled.

"Yes, run all you want. Can you outrun the ground, Siiyan? Will being a World Guardian stop you being crushed!" Sliske began unleashing his magic. "I'm done here! And you, if you think what I did to your souls before was bad, it will be a blessing compared to what is coming!" With that Sliske teleported away, and unleashed his spell, the room around them began shaking.

Siiyan painfully clambered to his feet, the adrenaline from this new situation giving him more urgency, despite the state of his injuries. "Run, the roof is coming down!" he shouted to his companions.

They ran for the nearby door, leading out into a cave system. Rocks and dust were falling around them, covering their hair and shoulders as they ran, or in his case, limped through the maze-like cave. In truth, he had no idea how to get out, and neither did his friends. They could well be heading into a dead end, and then meeting one themselves.

Hands burst through the dirt floor ahead of them, and a group of wights raised themselves and lunged towards the escapees. Rancour slammed hard into one of them, it crashed into a second one and they tumbled to the ground. The third swung at Siiyan, but he dropped down and rolled harmlessly under the swing. Well, almost harmlessly. The pain from the beating he recieved coursed through his body as he slammed against the ground, not able to get fully back to his feet. Meg reached down and grabbed his hand as she went passed, pulling him back to his feet and running on, with the wights in pursuit.

A split was coming up in the tunnel, and he made an impulse decision.

 _Left_

He darted left, Meg and Rancour following him. They ran on, chest burnind with every breath, and legs threatening to give out with every step. Just when all seemed lost, and as they thought they would never get out, a light was coming down from the cave ceiling, and a rope was hanging down from it, allowing for an escape.

"Up there!" Meg shouted as she grabbed onto the rope and climbed her way out. Major Rancour went next, climbing with speed so Siiyan could move quickly. He grabbed the rope and climbed up, reaching the surface just as the stone from the cave ceiling crashed down on the wights below, crushing them, and blocking the cave system.

Siiyan bent over, clutching his broken ribs as the pain burned through him with every breath.

"We're alive. Oh thank the stars we're alive." Meg breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes. You've done well Siiyan, despite everything." Major Rancour added.

Meg looked at him closely. "Are you... ok? I mean, Sliske did steal some of your soul, right?"

Siiyan grimaced, but his eyes were up ahead, where Dharok the Wretched was standing. Just standing, making no moves to attack. Something was up. "I may need a little help getting out of here, just hang back for a minute."

"Be careful." Major Rancour told him, "We don't know how much Sliske is controlling him." Motioning to Dharok.

Siiyan nodded and slowly limped forward. "Dharok? What are you doing up here?"

"Sliske has regained control of us, but not fully. Whatever you did, either in the trials or in his sanctum, we have some slight control. I'm here to tell you that, and to tell you that Linza can still be saved. She's not like us. She's undead, and will return from the dead like we do. But Sliskes control over her is weaker. There is still hope."

"Thank you for that Dharok. What now?"

"Now I will return to my tomb as before. We will pretend that Sliskes rule over us is absolute still. But know this; when the time is right, we will stand with you."

Siiyan nodded. "I'll do what I can when that happens."

"Until then.." Dharok said, and he retreated into his tomb.

Meg and Rancour came up behind him and stood by him. "We should leave soon, I wouldn't want to be here if Sliske comes back" Meg said.

"I agree" said Rancour. "Are you coming Siiyan?"

But he could hardly hear them. Every heartbeat was thundering in his ears, and the pain in his ribs was becoming unbearable as the broken bones splintered into his muscles from the inside, and the blood was still running freely down the back of his neck and the side of his face. He looked at his companions and swayed uneasily and his vision darkened as the last thing he saw was Major Rancour reaching down to catch him as he slumped down, unconscious.


	2. Kindred Spirits (Part II)

Kindred Spirits Pt 2

Siiyan's eyes cracked open. He saw the wooden ceiling of whatever room he was in, dimly lit by a lamp in the far corner of the room. A sliver of light came through a gap in the curtains, which slowly became bigger as someone opened the curtains, letting the daylight flood into the room.

He tried sitting up, but a sharp stab shot through his ribs, causing him to grunt in pain, and fall back onto the bed. The person in the room walked over to the bed, pulled up a chair and sat beside him. Siiyan looked up at them. He was expecting Meg, or Rancour, but he was pleasantly surprised by who he saw.

Long red hair flowing down over her shoulders, neatly held back by a green and yellow headband. The headband matched her green top and grey skirt. She looked down at him with soft blue eyes.

"Ariane" he said.

She said nothing, just stared down at him, unblinking.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"In Canifis" she replied curtly, "In the Hair of the Dog Tavern."

He began sitting up again, fighting through the pain and pushing away Ariane's hand as she tried laying him back down on the bed. He sat on the side of the bed and looked around the room. It was a basic tavern room. A bed, a table and a wash basin, nothing more. He looked at Ariane, but she ignored his gaze, instead standing and returning to the window.

"Where are the others?"

"They've gone. Major Rancour was needed back at Burthorpe, and Meg, just left. We did what we could for your injuries, at least until we get you to a proper healer." she replied, not moving her gaze from the outside. Siiyan looked down at his torso. His chestpiece had been removed and was sitting on the table, along with his shirt. Instead, he was wrapped in bandages, that had been soaked in some sort of restorative property. He felt around where his broken ribs had been. They didn't seem to be broken anymore, but there was still intense bruising around his chest. It probably wouldn't go down for a week. Ariane noticed what he was doing and spoke up again.

"I used some magic to heal the worst of the damage, but theres no more I can do with it. You'll just have to heal naturally from now on."

She looked back through the window, out into the swamps of Morytania.

"What is it?" he asked her.

She turned to face him. "Excuse me?"

"Something's bothering you, I can tell."

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous" she turned back to the window.

"You've barely spoken a word, and any you have spoken have been somwhat curt."

"Did I make it too obvious." Irritation was rising in her voice.

"I won't know if you don't tell me" he pressed.

"There's nothing to tell, so stop trying." Her voice was rising higher.

He stared at Ariane for a moment, analysing her body language. Her back was still turned to him, but her arms were crossed. Well, less crossed, more like she was hugging herself, and her shoulders were tucked in, like she was trying to hold something back.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

She whirled around to face him, showing the tears that were thrreatening to spill from her eyes, and harshly throwing her arms out in expression.

"Of course I am!" she shouted at him, "You could have died!"

She took a step back and looked away ever so slightly. She quielty sobbed as tears fell down her cheeks. Siiyan stood up from the bed, ignoring the pain in his ribs and walked over to Ariane. He put both hands on her shoulders and brought her into an embrace. She buried her head in his shoulder and let her tears fall. He put one hand on the small of her back, and used the other hand to gently stroke her hair, soothing her.

This continued for a while, until Ariane had calmed down enough to speak again. She pulled away from him and used her hand to wipe the tears from her face.

"Meg sent me a message saying you'd been injured. She didn't say what happened or how badly you were hurt, but I hadn't prepared myself to see you like you were. When I came in, you were unconcious on the bed, blood and bruises all over your body, and your head. It was like you'd been run through by a herd of Acheron. We managed to get you healed enough, but I was so afraid. Afraid that it wasn't enough, and afraid of what did this to you. Meg and Major Rancour left soon after without explaining anything." She let out a trembling sigh. "What happened to you?"

Siiyan's face darkened as the memory returned to the front of his mind. "It was Sliske" he said, "Sliske held us all hostage and forced us through a set of twisted games. Eventually things didn't go his way, and he wasn't happy about it. So, he took it out on me."

Ariane looked him in the eyes and pressed her hand up against his cheek. Tears returning to her eyes as she was at a loss for words.

"But that's not the ony thing. Sliske, I think he took part of my soul."

Ariane blinked away the tears. "Your soul? How is that even possible?"

"He has the Staff of Armadyl, and the Stone of Jas, there's probably not a lot he can't do. If he did take part of my soul, I have no idea what he could do with it." He walked back over to the bed and sat on the edge again.

Ariane turned thoughtful. "I would definitley say your soul is unique, especially given your immunity to divine magic. Maybe theres part of somthing only you have that he wants?" she theorised.

"Yeah, maybe." He had another thought, and if the others didn't tell her anything, then she didn't know this. He had to tell her.

"There's something else," he said, "It's about Linza."

"Linza?" she queried, "What about her?"

"She was there with us, but as you could see, she didn't make it out."

Her blue eyes widened with shock. "Did ... Is she ..?"

"No," he replied, his voice turned icy, "It's worse than that. Sliske turned her into a wight."

Ariane brought her hand to her mouth and gasped, "Oh Gods."

"Linza went to Sliske for protection. She stole some things from the Dragonkin, and, being afraid of the backlash, she went to _him_." He sneered as he thought of Sliske, and everything that had just transpired. Siiyan buried his forehead into his palms and rubbed his eyes.

"I would have helped her. Why couldn't she have realised that? I would have hepled her." He sighed deeply down to the floor. "I would have helped..."

Ariane walked over to the bed and sat beside him.

"Linza made her choice. And the consequence caught up with her. But, if anyone were to save her, I know it would be you." She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I will save her. There's nothing Sliske can do to stop me."

"Did you learn anything else about Sliske? Or his plans?" she asked him.

Siiyan paused before answering. He did learn a lot from Sliske's secret room, but if he told her anything, if he told anyone anything, they were in danger from Sliske's wrath. He couldn't risk her safety like that.

"No" he lied.

She looked at him. He gazed to the far wall, not meeting her eyes. She knew he wasn't telling the whole truth, but she didn't press it.

"Just promise me you'll stay out of trouble for the next week. You can't push yourself or you'll never recover properly."

He made a small, wry smile. "I promise I will try to stay out of trouble for the next week" he said.

Ariane chuckled slightly. That would be the best she would get out of him.

"Thank you."


End file.
